Woodbury

Woodbury is an upper middle class neighborhood that stretches north and especially west from the juncture of Highway 2 and the 134. This is a fairly diverse neighborhood. About half of the inhabitants are white, a quarter Asian, and a quarter Hispanic. The diversity extends to the professions of those who live here as well with one of five working in some kind of sales related profession and about the same working in the creative fields.

The major feature of the neighborhood is the Glendale Adventist Medical Center. It is one of the lesser known hospitals in the LA area and has gotten mixed reviews on its effectiveness from the people I know in the medical profession.

The residential homes in this neighborhood are worth taking a look at because they have not been highly spruced up like in the neighborhoods to the northwest. You see the signs of wear in these smaller homes in a way that you simply don’t in the other neighborhoods. This makes the neighborhoods look a little bit more worn down but also a lot more lived in. You will also see a bit more character in the architecture here, with boxier Mission Revival style homes thrust up against the sidewalks of the narrow tree-line streets in a way that gives these lanes an almost cave like feel. Occasionally you will come across some really intriguing structures as well, such as a dark orange Story Book house perched at the top of a terraced front garden. These idiosyncratic touches give this neighborhood uniqueness that is in some ways more fascinating than the richer, more stylized neighborhoods to the north.

Two schools are in the borders of this neighborhood, Glendale Adventist Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Middle School. Glendale Adventist is, obviously from the name, a religious school with a strong focus on academics and strong disregard for extra-curriculars. It definitely demands a lot from students and gets them to deliver. Woodrow Wilson Middle School is well-liked by most of the community even though test scores and some objective measures point to it being the weakest of the middle schools in north Glendale. Despite this, school spirit and community involvement seem to indicate a thriving environment for students.

There is also a little shopping area around the Ralph’s supermarket. Nothing to write home about but it definitely meets the grocery needs of this suburban neighborhood.

Overall, a great neighborhood for families, perfectly situated for those couples who commute to opposite ends of town.